BAGHDAD, Iraq, Sept. 4 — Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, arriving in Iraq, said today that his highest priority was to speed up the recruitment, training and deployment of former Iraqi officers to work with the United States to combat disorder and violence here.
"It is their country, and we want them to play a greater role," Mr. Rumsfeld said. An administration official who outlined the American strategy separately said that Mr. Rumsfeld wanted "to get people stood up quickly, attach them to the U.S. Army and then let them go and fight for their country."
The plans outlined by Mr. Rumsfeld today represented a shift and appeared to reflect the growing realization here and in Washington that the money and manpower so far committed to the American project in Iraq are proving insufficient to the task.
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When the United States first moved into Iraq, the belief was widespread that many Iraqi soldiers would rally to the American cause. But this did not happen and Mr. Bremer's initial moves seemed directed at making a clear break with the past — as represented by Mr. Hussein's army and security apparatus — rather than working to find recruits among them who could be screened and retrained.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/05/international/middleeast/05RUMS.html?hp
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